CONOR MURRAY LIKELY experienced a wave of contrasting emotions when Warren Gatland pulled him aside last Saturday and asked him to be his new Lions captain.
Pride, excitement, nerves. Given the status and weight placed on the role, it’s a lot to digest.
Peter O’Mahony, who captained the Lions for the first Test against New Zealand in 2017, knows better than most.
“I was very excited, very proud,” O’Mahony says. “A lot of emotions. International rugby is the pinnacle for us, but obviously the Lions is very, very special as well. It’s something you kind of dream of. It’s almost something you dare not to dream about at times, it’s that far up in the air.
“For it to be realised is an incredible feeling, but with it comes a lot of responsibility and a pressure as well, but there is no better man than Murr for pressure.”
As has often been pointed out over the last few days, Murray is not a captain at provincial or international level. A potential problem? Not in the slightest, according to O’Mahony.
“He leads by his actions. He leads by the way he runs the game. Naturally, your half-backs will always dictate the play and the tempo. They dictate a huge amount and they have an incredible understanding of the game-plan and rugby in general.
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O'Mahony and Murray both toured with the Lions in 2017. Dan Sheridan / INPHO
Dan Sheridan / INPHO / INPHO
“That all stands for a huge amount when it comes to the captaincy, in my opinion.”
A Lions tourist four years ago, O’Mahony was offering his views on Murray and the Lions captaincy from a distance, sitting in for the injured James Ryan – who is battling to be fit for Ireland’s game against Japan on Saturday – during yesterday’s media session from the IRFU’s High Performance Centre.
With 13 uncapped players in the squad, there is a different dynamic around this Ireland camp as Andy Farrell looks to build towards the future, with O’Mahony one of the few established senior internationals in the group.
“Obviously it’s a new group, so it’s about how quickly we can get together and gel and be cohesive,” O”Mahony says.
“Seeing to be playing for each other is a big thing and playing for the Irish jersey. At the end of the day, that’s what is measured every time you take to the field as the Irish national team.
“I don’t think that will change. It’s about us putting ourselves under pressure to perform. Our performance at the end of the day is the big thing.
“There are guys at different stages here but at the end of the day, you come together to play for Ireland and that in itself deserves a huge amount of respect.
It doesn’t matter who is away with the Lions or who is getting rested, the team picked next Saturday is the Irish national team and that deserves an incredible amount of respect in itself. There will guys who get chances, there will be guys there to prove points, guys who will be playing to win next Saturday and that’s not really different to a Six Nations game or any other competitive game for your country. It’s business as usual for us.”
Of course, the focus will largely remain on those new faces in the group, but O’Mahony is also determined to make the most of his time in camp.
“My aim is to play as well as I can if I’m selected for the team,” he continues.
“To get better, to improve my rugby, keep learning, enjoy myself, you know? Things we sometimes forget about in the heat of the environment. To enjoy it is incredibly important, because it’s great craic to be involved here, it’s really good fun being in camp.
“But at the end of the day we’re all here to get better and that’s the bottom line. For me it’s about constantly learning and striving to improve my game.”
More than once, O’Mahony mentions the pressures and stresses that come hand in hand with an Ireland camp, particularly for the uncapped players trying to digest new information and make the right impressions. With that in mind, O’Mahony tries to play his part in creating a relaxed environment away from the training pitch.
“There are times you obviously train and you’re 100% switched on, but you are just having the craic around the place and I think it relaxes them as well.
“We’re not wound up 24/7, there’s down times and there’s craic to be had and being down in the team room, going for coffees, that kind of thing is important.
“It’s not going to be around forever for any of us, so it’s important to enjoy it.”
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Lions captain Murray 'leads by his actions' - O'Mahony
CONOR MURRAY LIKELY experienced a wave of contrasting emotions when Warren Gatland pulled him aside last Saturday and asked him to be his new Lions captain.
Pride, excitement, nerves. Given the status and weight placed on the role, it’s a lot to digest.
Peter O’Mahony, who captained the Lions for the first Test against New Zealand in 2017, knows better than most.
“I was very excited, very proud,” O’Mahony says. “A lot of emotions. International rugby is the pinnacle for us, but obviously the Lions is very, very special as well. It’s something you kind of dream of. It’s almost something you dare not to dream about at times, it’s that far up in the air.
“For it to be realised is an incredible feeling, but with it comes a lot of responsibility and a pressure as well, but there is no better man than Murr for pressure.”
As has often been pointed out over the last few days, Murray is not a captain at provincial or international level. A potential problem? Not in the slightest, according to O’Mahony.
“He leads by his actions. He leads by the way he runs the game. Naturally, your half-backs will always dictate the play and the tempo. They dictate a huge amount and they have an incredible understanding of the game-plan and rugby in general.
“That all stands for a huge amount when it comes to the captaincy, in my opinion.”
A Lions tourist four years ago, O’Mahony was offering his views on Murray and the Lions captaincy from a distance, sitting in for the injured James Ryan – who is battling to be fit for Ireland’s game against Japan on Saturday – during yesterday’s media session from the IRFU’s High Performance Centre.
With 13 uncapped players in the squad, there is a different dynamic around this Ireland camp as Andy Farrell looks to build towards the future, with O’Mahony one of the few established senior internationals in the group.
“Obviously it’s a new group, so it’s about how quickly we can get together and gel and be cohesive,” O”Mahony says.
“Seeing to be playing for each other is a big thing and playing for the Irish jersey. At the end of the day, that’s what is measured every time you take to the field as the Irish national team.
“I don’t think that will change. It’s about us putting ourselves under pressure to perform. Our performance at the end of the day is the big thing.
“There are guys at different stages here but at the end of the day, you come together to play for Ireland and that in itself deserves a huge amount of respect.
Of course, the focus will largely remain on those new faces in the group, but O’Mahony is also determined to make the most of his time in camp.
“My aim is to play as well as I can if I’m selected for the team,” he continues.
“To get better, to improve my rugby, keep learning, enjoy myself, you know? Things we sometimes forget about in the heat of the environment. To enjoy it is incredibly important, because it’s great craic to be involved here, it’s really good fun being in camp.
“But at the end of the day we’re all here to get better and that’s the bottom line. For me it’s about constantly learning and striving to improve my game.”
More than once, O’Mahony mentions the pressures and stresses that come hand in hand with an Ireland camp, particularly for the uncapped players trying to digest new information and make the right impressions. With that in mind, O’Mahony tries to play his part in creating a relaxed environment away from the training pitch.
“There are times you obviously train and you’re 100% switched on, but you are just having the craic around the place and I think it relaxes them as well.
“We’re not wound up 24/7, there’s down times and there’s craic to be had and being down in the team room, going for coffees, that kind of thing is important.
“It’s not going to be around forever for any of us, so it’s important to enjoy it.”
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Conor Murray experience Ireland Peter O'Mahony